Former Oklahoma softball players continued to stand out as professionals over the summer, but their job is never finished. Jayda Coleman, Jocelyn Alo, Sydney Romero and Tiare Jennings have a chance to win $200,000 at the Finals Weekend of MLB Home Run Derby X, which is being held on Friday and Saturday in Salt Lake City.
A touring expansion of the fan-favorite baseball tradition, the 2025 season has toured six American cities over the past three months and involves Sooners and other softball players playing on teams with and against MLB stars in a co-ed 3-on-3 hitting contest where each game lasts 30 minutes. In order to advance to the final stage, the qualifying teams won their brackets consisting of four squads where OU alumni stepped up to the plate in Oklahoma City, Des Moines and Kansas City.
OU softball alumni to compete in MLB Home Run Derby X finals
Coleman and Romero were selected to compete on Team Wild Card, while Jennings joined the Kansas City Royals and Alo gets a chance to redeem the Yankees after their loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Des Moines bracket. Coleman and Romero played on the LA Dodgers and defeated their alma mater represented by Alo, Jennings and Kinzie Hansen in the OKC final. Jennings went to bat for the New York Mets in Kansas City, though faced defeat in the final by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Jennings has been on a rampage on deck by hitting a total of 43 dingers, while Alo follows with 39. Romero and Coleman nailed 11 and nine homers, respectively, as Dodgers teammates in OKC. All four have been active in professional softball with Romero and Jennings as members of Athletes Unlimited Softball League’s Talons and Volts, respectively, while Alo and Coleman play for the OKC Spark.
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